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Northern Lebanon drops parks and recreation funding

The school board voted against continuing to pay the usual annual $6,500 for 2014 to 2016

By LANE KINTIGHFor The Lebanon Daily News

Updated:
10/09/2012 11:28:33 PM EDT

FREDERICKSBURG - Despite spirited opposition to the measure, the Northern Lebanon school board on Tuesday night voted to cut the district's funding to the Northern Lebanon Recreation & Parks Commission.

The board voted 7-1 to approved its defunding of the commission for fiscal years 2014-16, with Dale Snader opposing.

Had the board voted the other way, funding would have been provided at about $6,500 per year for the three-year period. The board had voted previously to fund the commission through the 2013 fiscal year but refused further funding.

The commission's director, Suzanne Guirate, and Snader attempted to change the board's collective mind, to no avail.

Snader said he felt strongly that the district's support was the most cost-effective way to provide much-needed services to the community and, without the district's funding, local taxpayers would ultimately pay more.

"I see this support as the most cost-effective way to achieve our goals," he told his fellow directors. "The school district is in a unique position to support the commission. In the long run, it will cost the community less money."

The other board members expressed regret at the funding cuts.

"Our first responsibility is to the children of our district," board member Rachel England said. "If we cannot provide enough teachers for our children, then I don't think we can support parks and recreation for the community.

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We are school board members, so I will have to vote no."

The vote was taken after Guirate's report describing some of the 134 programs the commission sponsored in 2012 and giving details on a state grant it had received to do a community-needs assessment to bring better service to the community in the coming years.

While the board voted to cut all funding to the commission, it did vote unanimously to continue to permit the commission to use district property as long as it is of no additional cost to the district.

In unrelated business, England has dropped her objection to the inclusion of the novel "The Hunger Games" by author Suzanne Collins in the reading list for the Keystone English curriculum.

"I did read 'The Hunger Games,'" she said, "and I think it's a valid book for high school with the right discussion."

England had previously objected to the violent theme of the book, which was made into a popular movie earlier this year.

In other business:

The board watched an audiovisual presentation from Gregory Gray, health and physical-education teacher at Lickdale Elementary School, about how the phys-ed teachers are integrating math, reading and spelling work in their curricula.

Students were shown in a video performing a variety of phys-ed activities that included sight word recognition, geography, math facts, and spelling and vocabulary work. Many of the activities included simulated video games.

"I loved every part of it," board member Amy Sell told Gray. "It is very current to them. Excellent work."

Rick Rampolla, a publisher's representative for the program SAT Boot Camp, gave the board details on the five- to six-hour test-taking strategy sessions to be held for Northern Lebanon High School students.

"With the financial support of $500 from the school, the cost will be only $55 per student," he explained. "They will learn time management, elimination and other strategies to improve scores."